DR-4711-KY Final Public Notice
Notice Date |
---|
Project Title(s): FEMA-DR-4711-KY, involving road repairs.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) hereby gives final notice to the public of its intent to reimburse various state, county, and local road and highway departments and districts with Public Assistance (PA) federal grant funds for the proposed repair or replacement of disaster damaged linear facilities throughout the area serviced under their authority and jurisdiction. These facilities were damaged by severe storms, straight-line winds, tornadoes, flooding, and landslides that occurred during the incident period of February 15, 2023 – February 20, 2023, and subsequently declared major disaster FEMA-DR4711-KY as signed by the President on May 9, 2023.
A cumulative Initial Public Notice was published and posted June 16th, 2023, for DR-4711-KY. Comments and other information received were fully evaluated by FEMA along with evaluation of social, economic, environmental, and safety considerations. This serves as a cumulative Final Public Notice for FEMA’s funding action for certain roadway repairs located within the floodplain. This Final Public Notice concerns road repair activities that substantially conform to their pre-disaster design and dimensions, allowing minor upgrades for mitigation and standard methods of repair as defined in this section. These sites and activities may be in Special Flood Hazard Areas (SFHAs) or may affect floodplains or wetlands.
The proposed action scopes of work (SOW) include the repair or replacement of gravel, asphalt, chip and seal, and concrete road surfaces and sub-bases; removal of debris and sediment from and regrading, reestablishment, repair, and replacement of roadway ditches, gutters, and swales; in-kind replacement of lost or damaged roadway shoulder/embankment fill material including previously existing retaining walls, gabions, rail and crib, and rip rap; and repair or replacement of previously existing culverts, low water crossings, bridges, or other water conveyance structures.
Mitigation methods of repair allowable under this programmatic review include the replacement of lost roadway shoulder fill material with rip rap; stabilization of roadway embankments with rip rap, rail and crib, and gabion baskets; addition of geogrids and geotextiles; and addition of curbs, gutters, swales, culverts, low water crossings, bridges, or other water conveyance structures. All other mitigation methods or standard methods of repair must be reviewed individually.
This review does not apply to projects involving polybags or placement or pouring of uncured concrete that was not pre-existing at the time of the event, or the repair or replacement of existing culverts, low water crossings, bridges, or other water conveyance structures on designated Waters of the US (WOTUS). As some road projects are located county-wide, district-wide, or city-wide, some repairs to the roads may not be located with a SFHA.
FEMA has determined that the only practicable alternative is to fund the repair of several roads already located within the floodplain prior to the event. Other alternatives considered included relocation and abandonment. These alternatives were ultimately dismissed due to the resulting adverse social and economic impacts to the local community as well as potential limitations of safety response times.
Funding for the proposed projects will be conditional upon compliance with all applicable federal, tribal, state, and local laws, regulations, floodplain standards, permit requirements, and conditions. This action complies with the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) requirements.
For the above stated actions, this will be the final public notice provided. Other activities and those involving facilities that do not meet the criteria described above are required to undergo more detailed review including study of alternative locations. Subsequent project-specific final public notice(s) regarding such projects will be published, if necessary, as more specific information becomes available.
The National Historic Preservation Act requires federal agencies to consider the effect of their undertakings on historic properties. Actions affecting buildings, structures, districts, or objects that are greater than or equal to 45 years of age or that affect known archeological sites or undisturbed ground will require further review.
The projects occupancy within the floodplain was determined by referencing the relevant Community Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs), on 12/14/2023. Projects will be in the designated counties of Bell, Breathitt, Caldwell, Carter, Clay, Elliott, Floyd, Harlan, Hart, Johnson, Knott, Lawrence, Lee, Leslie, Letcher, Magoffin, Morgan, Owsley, Perry, Powell, Whitley, Wolfe. Site specific flood map information is available on request and will be included in the Record of Environmental Consideration (REC).
Comments: This will serve as the final public notice regarding the above‐described action(s) funded by the FEMA PA program. Interested persons may submit comments, questions, or requests for project-specific maps by writing to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Region 4, 3003 Chamblee‐Tucker Road, Atlanta, Georgia 30341, or by emailing FEMA‐R4EHP@fema.dhs.gov. Comments should be sent in writing with the subject line, “FINAL PUBLIC NOTICE FEMA-4711-DR-KY, involving road repairs” at the above addresses within 15 days of the date of this notice.